Having students use the computer to investigate and discover on their own, the connection between the world’s biomes and the animals that inhabit them is crucial to having this project be successful.

However, the “Think, Write, Pair, Share” addition to the Qwizdom unit this year, as well as the “I see…It means..” proved to be very successful.  It provided children with more social involvement and required them to actively write what they were observing and learning, compared to just listening.  Students working cooperatively in groups were able to provide reasonable information and could justify their answers even though their biome choice may have been incorrect.

Is he coming to our room?

Is it time to do Qwizdom again?

Please, please, can we use it today!!

The look on my students’ faces when we see Mr. Simpson is priceless.  They smile ear-to-ear and have a look of excitement and hope that they will be the students participating in Qwizdom.

Our most recent Qwizdom experience was a great success.  In my first experience with Qwizdom, I tackled a Literacy lesson.  This last time, I took on what I thought would be a more difficult task with Qwizdom: MCAS Math Prep.  After creating the Qwizdom presentation and using it with my class, I realized that Qwizdom was a wonderful tool to use to better my instruction in math.

Prior to implementing the lesson, I was concerned about how students would show their work, which was something I had stressed over and over again through the course of the year.  The students were able to easily write down their answers on a piece of graph paper and then select their answer on their remote.

Now, that all the third grade classes have been able to experience using Qwizdom, we, as a team, have been able to take a look at how each class has performed on the same lesson.  The other teachers and I used the Graph Slides to better plan our upcoming Math review to help prepare students for the May MCAS exam.

We found a multi-step question involving fractions to be extremely difficult.  The students had to find one-third of 12 and then subtract what they found from the total of 12.  They also had to be able to figure out that the person in the story gave away one-third, meaning they kept two-thirds for themselves.  The wording of the question required lots of pre-thinking in order to figure out where to go with the problem.  It required students to find a fractional part of a whole number.  The students also had to be able to realize that if you were giving away one-third, you must be left with two-thirds.  This is definitely a difficult problem to solve, but one the students must be able to complete on the state math exam.

It was clearly displayed through the “Graph Slides” that the students struggled with this problem.  There was no one wrong answer that a majority of students across all third grade classes seemed to choose.  This let us know what we needed to cover was how to approach the solving of this problem from the very first step.  I saw my students struggling while trying to solve it, so I put some images and number sentences on the board while trying to talk through getting the problem started aloud.  I think that this helped some students in my classroom who were completely stuck on where to go.  Another teacher let her students work through the problem the best they could and then had a group discussion of strategies after they entered their answers.   This led to great discussion of the different problem solving strategies that students could use to find the answers.  It also allows us, as teachers, to see that many students need review on multi-step word problems and using fractions.

Personally, I found the Answer Slides to be an extremely helpful teaching tool.  It allowed me to highlight numbers and vocabulary from the questions to show the students what they should be looking for in the questions.  It also allowed me to place number sentences on the slides to show how to solve the questions.  On some answer slides, I was able to pose questions to help those students that were confused or answered incorrectly to start asking themselves the right questions to get to the correct answer.

The morning after the Math lesson, I asked students to write down what they thought of the Qwizdom experience.  Here are some of their responses:

I think that using Qwizdom for lessons is a good way to get better and better at subjects because you won’t need to pass out work, do the work, and pass in the work.  You just need to pass out the remotes, get it ready, and start.

I liked Qwizdom because it’s easy and I like seeing if I got it right or wrong right away!

I love, love, love Qwizdom!

I would like to do it again!

A similar significant change on a somewhat smaller scale is happening here at the Ferryway.  We’ve been using the Qwizdom Student Response System (SRS) in grades 3-8.  The system consists of a computer, projector, handheld remotes, a special teacher remote, and software similar to PowerPoint.  I’ve been working with a group of teachers to collaboratively integrate lesson content onto a series of slides.  The projector allows teachers to display content such as bar graphs, maps, digital images, and video clips onto the classroom white board.  Students often use markers on the projected display to underline important vocabulary words or circle details found in images to build their observational skills.  Presentations become interactive when a question slide appears, causing each student remote to display a set of responses.  The ever popular multiple-choice question;  A, B, C or D, can easily be programmed.  Students make their selection and wirelessly send the responses.

To learn more about Qwizdom at the Ferryway, listen to a 3-minute podcast or review lesson handouts by visiting the Ferryway School wiki.  Also, some of our Ferryway teacher are blogging about their Qwizdom experiences.  Thanks Mrs. DeSantis, Ms. Ambrose, Mrs. Shelton, and Mrs. Urban for sharing.

We have started off the new year in Social Studies trying to integrate technology within the classroom whenever the opportunity allows.  First, most textbook lessons are being enhanced with powerpoint visual presentations.  Geography terms, concepts, cultural diversities and people from all over the world can be brought into the classroom using rich visual pictures, animation and sound.  Students in my class have just finished studying about land use conflict in the Amazon rainforest.  We researched 6 different groups that use the rainforest resources and the issues surrounding deforestation, sustainable development and traditional ways of living.  During this unit, I was able to bring teachertube into my classroom to show my students videos created by other students on deforestation and ways to save the rainforests.  This jumped started much enthusiasm for a project based on “saving the rainforest”.  Students could present their ideas about saving the rainforest, traditionally using poster board or mural designs, or step outside the box and “wow” me with technology. Many of the students did powerpoint presentations, some created videos and 1 group designed an interactive website.  I was astonished at how much the students know about technology.  While the technology based presentations were being done, students were engaged and learning. The projects were varied in subject matter and were very interesting due to the current information students could activate from the computer.  It was a huge success! A second way we are using technology in Social Studies is that most quizzes are administered using Qwizdom.  Students have become very familiar with using Qwizdom as an assessment tool.  They have a paper copy of the test to read and answers are electronically recorded.  Students have practiced reviewing their answers and can change an answer if necessary.  Once complete they can get their final score immediately.  It is truly a wonderful way for teachers to see in real time who understands the concepts that were taught and what needs to be reviewed.  It’s immediate feedback for both the teacher and the students.  Plus, we are saving the rainforest by conserving paper by recycling the test for other classes to read and having no answer sheet!  Lastly, I am encouraging all my students to use technology whenever possible and to share their wealth of knowledge with their classmates!  Looking forward to our future lessons surrounded by lots of technology!!!

Students, Stephanie, Hantha and Kamila research Brazilian nuts from the Amazon rainforest.  They found that certain brands of ice cream are made from these nuts.  Their motto,”Save the Amazon…Eat Brazilian Ice Cream.  As an added treat the students shared samples of the ice cream with their classmates.

The Qwizdom focused on vocabulary words from three stories read in our Reading Street Text. The students had had multiple exposures to the words and this Qwizdom was used as a way to assess what they remembered. The presentation featured multiple choice questions, while the students completed a written component at their seat in order to back up each answer.

One of the students favorite parts of Qwizdom was the random selection piece. Students were randomly chosen by Qwizdom to read a question, give their answer or explain what they were thinking. This was a great teacher tool as well, allowing all students to be chosen and I didn’t have to keep track of who was or was not reading. It also allowed me to differentiate who was reading what pieces.

Overall, the Qwizdom was beneficial for my students who are reading below grade-level. It allowed students to participate in the same manner as others, and it didn’t make them stand out from the rest of the class.

When it was all done, the students had been assessed, everyone had a good time, and there was no correcting and no grading on my behalf! The Qwizdom print-outs made it easy for me to see who performed well on this assessment and who needed additional instruction and exposure to the vocabulary.

Every time my class sees Mr. Simpson in the hallway, they ask when they are using Qwizdom again!

“Let the game begin”…….. Once students where briefed on the rules and strategies of the game the learning and fun began!  One “contestant” would choose the subject and amount of points to be waged. “I’ll take Math for 200, Mrs.D”, said Walter.  As the teacher controlling the Quandary game, I would then announce the topic and points, then reveal the question.  The “contestants” would then read, think and answer as quickly as possible to lock their answers into the Quizdom remote.  Once all had responded, the answer was revealed and the points accumulate accordingly.  The atmosphere in the room was explosive……students, thinking, laughing and building friendships!

The students and teachers had so much fun and best of all it was all curriculum based!! Students were actively engaged and having a great time.  Nice work to the 6th Grade Team…. We would also like to thank Mr. Simpson for all he does as a technology leader.  Also, a special thanks to Mr. Teixeira for taking time to teach another teacher about ways to implement Quizdom into the classrooms!

The Technology Leadership Team at the Ferryway School has been established to promote technology within the classroom.  Under the guidance of Robert Simpson, the Technology Team has successfully completed three workshops and has attended many meetings on how to best implement digital media into our lessons.  This has been very exciting for both, teachers and the students.

The 6th grade team and the students have had many opportunities over the past few weeks to implement technology within our curriculum.  First, Mrs. Terranova and her students did podcasting  book reviews.  A few students were selected to try a live podcast based on their writing reviews of books they had read.  The students met with Mr. Simpson and had a lesson on how to use the audio equipment.   Once the podcast was uploaded, Mrs. Terranova played the podcasts for students within her ELA classes.  The students excitement was infectious.  They all wanted to “go live”.

Due to the success and interest of the podcast book reviews, we came up with the idea of a picture podcast.  In Social Studies, the students wrote about the Five Themes of Geography using a personal photograph.  A few students were then selected to present a “picture podcast”.  Once the students became familiar with the podcasting process, they were then asked to demonstrate what they did to the class.  The students that did the picture podcasts, taught their classmates how to do a live podcast.  Pair/sharing at it’s best!  Students teaching students!  How motivating and exciting!   Again, it was amazing that the students were so comfortable with the computer, microphone and program.  We were so surprised at how much the students knew about computers.

Powerpoint has also been used in Social Studies to present information to students using charts, pictures and graphs.  Visual context is a valuable tool for all students, including students with learning disabilities and English Language Learners.  Overall, Ferryway is moving forward with technology in the classrooms.  Keep up the good work, both teachers and students.